Jio Platforms Launches India’s Largest IPO on October 21, Aiming for ₹30,213 Crore

Jio Platforms Ltd (JPL), the digital services arm of Reliance Industries that operates India’s largest telecom network Reliance Jio, is preparing to launch its initial public offering (IPO) next week. The company has set the share price band between ₹1,065 and ₹1,119, with the IPO expected to raise up to ₹30,213 crore if priced at the upper limit. This fundraising effort is poised to become the biggest IPO ever seen in India, valuing Jio Platforms at approximately ₹10.3 trillion.

The fresh issue involves up to 270 million equity shares, each with a face value of ₹10. The subscription window opens on October 21 and closes on October 23. Prior to this, anchor investors will place their bids on October 19, according to a filing submitted to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday. If fully subscribed, Jio Platforms’ IPO will surpass the previous record held by Hyundai Motor India, which raised ₹27,800 crore in October 2024.

This move comes at a time when global equity fundraising has shown signs of slowing down, while India’s primary market continues to maintain robust activity for the second year in a row. JPL has also set aside shares worth ₹500 crore exclusively for eligible employees and ₹2,500 crore for eligible shareholders including individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs). Employees participating through the reservation quota will enjoy a discount of ₹54 per share.

The minimum lot size for investors is 12 shares, with bids allowed in multiples of 12 thereafter. The company has already filed the red herring prospectus with the Registrar of Companies in Gujarat as part of the regulatory process.

The IPO marks a significant milestone for Reliance Jio, which launched a decade ago in 2016. The company disrupted the Indian telecom sector with its competitive offerings of free voice calls and affordable mobile data plans. Since then, Jio has expanded its footprint beyond mobile connectivity to include broadband services, cloud computing, enterprise solutions, and ventures into artificial intelligence.

Looking ahead, Jio Platforms is pursuing ambitious projects such as creating a sovereign low-earth-orbit satellite constellation and integrating AI-native services into its network infrastructure. In the fiscal year ending March 2026, the company reported revenues of ₹1.47 trillion and a profit after tax of around ₹30,000 crore, underscoring its rapid growth trajectory.

Akash Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio, expressed confidence about the IPO’s success in a recent interview with Business Standard. He described the public offering as a pivotal moment for the company that will kickstart its next phase of development. “The IPO is just the start of the journey,” Ambani said, highlighting Reliance’s history of delivering shareholder value and consistent growth. “Of course, the IPO is the biggest step for us as a company.”

Notably, the current offering does not involve any secondary sales from existing investors. Prominent stakeholders such as Meta, Google, KKR, Silver Lake, and General Atlantic, which collectively invested nearly $20 billion in Jio Platforms in 2020, will retain their shares. These investors currently own 30.89% of the company, with Meta holding 9.98% and Google 7.73%. Reliance Industries continues to maintain a controlling stake of 66.43%.

Jio Platforms plans to allocate approximately ₹27,500 crore from the IPO proceeds to prepay borrowings taken by one of its significant subsidiaries. The offering is being managed by Morgan Stanley and Kotak Mahindra Capital as the lead bookrunners, along with support from around a dozen other financial institutions.

This listing represents a new chapter for a company that has spent the last ten years expanding digital access throughout India. Akash Ambani emphasized that while the IPO represents a major milestone, it is only the beginning of an exciting future. “We are a 10-year-old company, and we truly believe that the future ahead is a very exciting path,” he said. “From my perspective, the IPO will be a great place for us to start and go on from there.”